Saving Seafood

ALASKA: Fish fights take center stage in Alaska Senate race

August 20, 2026 — The plight of the state’s fisheries, some of the most productive in the world, has become a flashpoint in Alaska’s Senate race and arisen as a potential weakness for two-term incumbent Dan Sullivan.

Sullivan faces a tough reelection bid against former Democratic Rep. Mary Peltola, who has centered her campaign around “Fish, Family, Freedom.” She’s trying to harness anger at out-of-state commercial fishing to win her way back to Congress.

Alaska hosts some of the largest commercial pollock fisheries in the world as well as major salmon populations — buttressing a seafood industry that supports more than 15,000 Alaskan jobs with around $5 billion in value. Many Alaska Natives harvest fish from the state’s mighty rivers and rely on the catch during winter.

Read the full article at E&E News

IFFO reports weak fishmeal and fish oil output as El Niño impacts fisheries

August 20, 2026 — IFFO – the Marine Ingredients Organization is reporting continued weak output of fishmeal and fish oil as a coastal El Niño weather pattern impacts raw material availability.

Scientists warned in July that a “Super” El Niño was likely to develop in 2026, causing a wave of different impacts on multiple global fisheries. Fisheries were already anticipating the phenomenon before it started to gain strength but, ultimately, could do little but react to warming water.

Read the full article at SeafoodSource

$15 million federal grant will fund fishing tech projects

August 19, 2026 — A“third eye” camera for groundfishermen and autonomous robots for lobstermen. That’s, in part, what a group of New England commercial fishing advocates, oceanographic researchers and tech companies hope to build with a $15 million federal grant.

The goal of the U.S. National Science Foundation funding, awarded in late July, is to help commercial fishermen catch better, healthier fish and bolster the region’s seafood industry from harvest to processing.

Researchers will use some of the money to further develop a camera system that allows captains and crews to see what’s swimming into their nets, before it is hauled onto the deck. The innovation could mean the difference between a net full of bycatch — fish that crews don’t want, because they’re heavily regulated, or can’t keep — and a harvest that makes money.

Other parts of the federal grant will be spent to develop autonomous robots to detect environmental conditions underwater that could lead to bringing up traps filled with dead lobsters.

The awardees also plan to use the money to figure out how to strengthen the processing side of the seafood industry, said Jake Kritzer, executive director for the Northeastern Regional Association of Coastal Ocean Observing Systems — the organization leading the group awarded the grant — in an interview with The Light.

Read the full article at the New Bedford Light

MASSACHUSETTS: Massachusetts Launches “Flat Is Back” Campaign to Promote Local Flounder

August 19, 2026 — The following was released by Mass.gov

The Massachusetts Division of Marine Fisheries (DMF) today announced the launch of the Massachusetts Flounder Chef Council, a statewide campaign celebrating locally harvested flounders. Ten participating chefs will feature the versatile New England fish on restaurant menus across the state. The council brings together ten leading Massachusetts chefs, each of whom will feature a signature dish showcasing Massachusetts flounder. The dishes will be served at participating restaurant locations across Massachusetts through September 30.

“Massachusetts fishermen harvest world-class seafood from some of the most nutrient-rich fishing grounds in the world,” said DMF Director Dan McKiernan. “The Flounder Chef Council connects that fishing heritage with today’s diners while demonstrating how choosing local flounder supports fishing families, working waterfronts and coastal communities throughout the Commonwealth.”

Massachusetts flounder is wild-caught by local fishermen in the cool waters off the New England coast. With its mild, slightly sweet flavor and delicate white flesh, flounder is quick to cook and remarkably versatile. Flounder is low in saturated fat and packs a protein punch providing essential vitamins and minerals and over 20 grams of protein for 100 calories per serving.

Although local flounder is available year-round, Massachusetts fishermen caught only a portion of the amount allowed in 2025. Unpredictable prices, competition from imported seafood and limited consumer demand can make it difficult to sell more of the available catch.Through the Flat Is Back campaign, DMF and the participating chefs hope to introduce more restaurant diners and home cooks to this versatile New England fish while creating greater demand for the local catch.

“Massachusetts flounder is a beautiful fish to cook with – it’s fresh, delicate and incredibly versatile,” said Jeremy Sewall, Chef & Owner of Row 34 and Massachusetts Flounder Chef Council member. “By putting it on our menus, we can create something memorable for diners while supporting the local fishermen and coastal communities that make Massachusetts seafood so special.”

MASSACHUSETTS: Who’s the toughest shucker in New Bedford?

August 19, 2026 — Captain Eddie Dellecese, of the fishing vessel Buckeye, won the Fishing Heritage Center’s second annual Scallopalooza contest, shucking 100 scallops in under five minutes

New Bedford crowned a champion last week at its annual scallop shucking contest, which celebrates the intricate flick of the wrist that helps generate over $300 million in annual seafood revenue for the city.

Eddie Dellecese, captain of the fishing vessel Buckeye, shucked 50 scallops in under two and a half minutes in both rounds of last Thursday’s Scallopalooza contest.

With two thrusts of his knife, Dellecese can pop open a scallop and separate its white circular meat from the colorful guts and shell, which he flings forward into a trash pile. On average, the whole motion takes under 3 seconds.

Read the full article at NENC

$15M grant aims to protect New England’s ‘legacy’ seafood industry

August 17, 2026 — This grant will fund new fishery technology and innovations, which will help researchers at URI and other partners better understand the changing sea environment.

The seafood industry has long been an economic driver in Rhode Island, but it’s facing a number of challenges — including rising costs, warming waters and an aging workforce. In an effort to combat these obstacles, the National Science Foundation has awarded a $15 million grant to the University of Rhode Island and several regional partners.

Morning host Luis Hernandez spoke with Marta Gomez-Chiarri, an aquaculture and fisheries professor at URI, about how her lab is hoping to use the money to spur technological innovations that can help strengthen the health and viability of the local seafood industry.

Read the full article at Ocean State Media

ALASKA: Preliminary 2027 forecast for Alaska’s Bristol Bay fishery predicts more, smaller sockeye

August 17, 2026 — With the 2026 commercial salmon harvests winding down in Alaska, the seafood industry is already calculating how to navigate at a profit in 2027, given dynamic biological, economic, climate and market conditions.

Their forecast has a far-reaching socio-economic impact across the state — Bristol Bay’s commercial fishery had about $2 billion in economic impact and supported 15,000 jobs in 2019 according to research from the McKinley Research Group.

Data from the University of Washington’s forthcoming preliminary preseason forecast for the celebrated Bristol Bay wild sockeye fishery anticipate a run of 45 million fish next year, up from the 2026 forecast of 41.5 million. But run size is just one of many factors under consideration.

Fish size is one of those factors: 45 million big fish have more meat — and a bigger economic effect — than 45 million smaller fish. The size of the fish also helps determine which products the processors will produce.

“When we get really big returns the fish are smaller for their age, because they are competing for their food,” said salmon researcher Daniel Schindler of the University of Washington School of Aquatic and Fishery Sciences. “We estimate how many fish of each age class are coming back.”

For 2027 those preliminary indications are for 20 million fish that have spent three years in the ocean — known as three ocean fish — and 30 million fish that have spent two years in the ocean in 2027. Because there are more fish that have spent less time in the ocean, the overall catch will be smaller.

But the climate can affect how much of that forecast becomes a reality.

Read the full article at Alaska Beacon

US embassy launched IUU reporting hub in the Philippines

August 14, 2026 — The U.S. Embassy in the Philippines has launched a new initiative to gather community reports of illegal, unreported, and unregulated (IUU) fishing around the Southeast Asian nation and share them with authorities.

“Illegal, unreported, and unregulated [IUU] fishing is both an economic and a national security challenge. It depletes fish stocks, disrupts supply chains, distorts markets, threatens food security, and places responsible fishers and legitimate businesses at a disadvantage,” U.S. Embassy Officer Taylor Fincher said in a release. “Addressing illegal fishing and related maritime concerns is an important area of cooperation between the United States and the Philippines.”

Read the full article at SeafoodSource